The Idiots Apprentice
by KinkyEyepatchShit
Summary: What's this? After three years, Kyo and the gang reunite for a calm party? Sounds nostalgic, no? No. It's anything but. Join the SDK gang as they babysit their resident drunks and try not to die by consuming Akari's food. R&R. No Flames. OC's present.


Disclaimer: It is with great sorrow I admit I do NOT have ownership of Samurai Deeper Kyo characters, weapons or anything related to the series at all. (sad sigh)

A/N: Well you guys, the plot bunny bit me again. Ok actually the non-plot bunny. You kno the one that gives you random ideas that you just have to write down, without having a plot whatever. That little bugger bit me and would not let go. So this is the result. This has some SPOILERS for the end of the series, so if ya haven't finished it, you might not wanna look too far into this fic. Got it, good. So this takes place three years after Kyo and the others defeated the Mibu and our beloved badass redhead disappeared. Of course, as those who have finished the series, or hey at least spoiled it for themselves like I did (XD) know that he comes back! YAY! He and Yuya can go have babies! (COUGH) anyway, so yes he comes back. And well, once everyone gets wind of that news, they obviously have to have a reunion. That's where I come in. So sit back, relax, and get ready to laugh and be surprised. Just give this idea a chance, and don't flame me for what the damn bunnies started. (Nods) Enjoy!

**The idiots' apprentice **

It had been three years since all of them had been together.

But now, at the return of the crimson haired warrior, he and his companions would reunite. Not for battle and tragedy, but for a real reunion. And how do they celebrate?

"Ne, Bon-chan, hand that sake over here," slurs Sanada Yukimura, discarding an empty sake bottle on the ground, away from their cherry blossom watching spot.

Bontemaru sighs, "You really need to cut back," he mutters, "not even you can afford this," he adds.

"Yukimura-sama, perhaps Bontemaru-san is right, you have consumed quite a few bottles of sake," says Saizo nervously, "Maybe you should quit?"

The dark haired man gives his ninja a look that could only mean one thing: step away from the happy drunk.

Saizo hurriedly complies and backs away, most likely going to watch the festivities from a nearby tree.

"So who are we missing?" asks Benitora dazedly, accidentally spilling sake on a sulky Sasuke, who scowls.

"Hidetada-sama," murmurs Mahiro, a sweatdrop forming on her forehead. She was seated beside the squinty-eyed man on the blanket they had brought, gradually serving food to him, and a few of the others who were more than frightened to try Akari's food.

"There's nothing wrong with my cooking! Now EAT IT!!" commands the pink haired she-man, twirling a spatula dangerously.

Shinrei slowly starts to inch away from her, since the others were distracted by the choking Akira, who was starting to develop a blue tinge to his skin. And it wasn't from the cold, be assured.

"Oh, Akira-san! Drink some water, quick!" exclaims Yuya, handing the strawberry blond a jug of water.

"Make sure that's not the sake," mutters Yuan, not out of safety for the ice-user, but for the supply of their alcohol.

"And to answer your question, squinty," he continues, ignoring the demands to retract the squinty comment, and a still choking Akira, "My idiot student is the one who's missing."

"Someone sent him a letter, right?" asks Yuya, having gotten the choking situation under control.

Now Akira was trying to get his windpipes from throbbing in pain, and blood circulating again.

That statement earns the blond haired bounty huntress some stares.

"Look dog-face," pipes up Kyo, "Hotaru will show up when he shows up. There's no reason to fret over his dumbass," with that, the redhead continues to calmly sip his sake.

Yuya glares, "I thought I told you to stop calling me that!" she shouts, "And what if Hotaru-san got lost or something? Does he even have any idea where we are?"

"Yuya-san, Hotaru-san is definitely going to get lost," says Kyoshiro gently, "We can always hope for the best though."

Sakuya smiles and nestles herself at his side, gazing above at the petals that slowly fell to the ground, sighing in content.

Bon snorts and sits back a bit more comfortably against one of the cherry trees, crossing his arms over his chest, "He'll be fine. Probably."

"How is he supposed to know where we are?" insists Yuya, frowning at the males of the group.

That draws more silence,

"He'll find a way," says Akira helpfully, voice sounding strained.

Of course, Yuya wasn't exactly convinced, especially after a comment from Shinrei,

"Who cares."

"Don't say that, Shinrei!" says Akari cheerfully, beaming at them all, "Hotaru will be fine! Now, eat up! Kyo, I made this especially for you!"

She shoves a rather pitiful looking dish at the redhead, who gives it a long calculating stare with those crimson eyes.

Yuya didn't know whether to feel jealous or sorry for Kyo.

Suddenly Okuni was entirely too close to him, leaning on his shoulder.

And Yuya was a raging tower of anger, "What are you doing Okuni-san?! Aren't you with Bon-san?!"She shrieks loudly, drawing the attention of some random blossom watchers who were seated nearby.

The large bosomed woman chortles seductively, "Oh my, I was never with Bon-san to begin with! What assumptions you make!" she states, "And besides, do I detect a hint of jealousy?"

That gets Akari into a cooing fit, "OOH Yuya-chan I knew you had a thing for Kyo! How adorable!" she squeals.

"I thought he-er, she, was interested in Kyo?" murmurs Yuan in confusion, raising a silver (or whatever the hell his hair color is) eyebrow and staring.

"Please, let's just not draw attention to the issue," mutters Akira wearily, brows knit together in a frown.

"I agree with the brat, it's better for everyone to get drunk and forget we ever had this conversation," says Bon with a nod.

"What conversation?" asks Tokito, narrowing her eyes at them.

"Why are you here?" growls Akira, irritation evident in his voice.

"You are going to fight me," states the woman, determined.

Akira glares, "You're so annoying! Go bother Shinrei or something!" he snaps.

Shinrei hears this and retorts, "Don't bring me into this! Solve your own lovers spat!"

"WE ARE NOT LOVERS!" shout Tokito and Akira in unison, waving their fists at the silver haired man.

Shinrei scoffs, and sips more sake, "Che, whatever. Looks like 'em to me."

Bon stares at him for a moment, and then poses this question, "Shinrei, has anyone ever told you that you are a very bitter drunk?"

Shinrei stares back at him, eyes looking glazed, "No," he replies.

Bon blinks once, then turns back to his own sake, "Right, well anyway."

Suddenly, voices draw closer,

"I can't believe you got us lost!" exclaims a young male voice angrily.

"It's not my fault," replies a familiar male voice in monotone, "I forgot where they said they'd be."

"That's exactly why you DON'T BURN THE FRIGGIN' LETTERS ONCE YOU GET THEM!" explodes the other voice, followed by the sound of something distinctly large flying through the air.

A blur of gold and white comes flying towards them, and at the last minute, lands before them on the grass in a heap.

A moment of silence follows.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Keikoku," comments Yuan dryly, raising an eyebrow at the blond. Hmm, he seems to be doing a lot of that lately. Must be the sake and the company.

The head of sunlit hair rises, golden eyes staring dazedly about, "Oh, hi Yun-Yun. Didn't see you there," he states, pulling himself into a sitting position and dusting grass off his clothes.

"Don't try to act cool when someone sent you flying, Hotaru," says Bon, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, who was that anyway?" chimes in Akira, trying and failing to hide his curiosity.

Yuya stares at him with concern, "Are you alright?" she asks.

Instead of responding, the blond blinks, and stares at Kyo, "Oh, so you're back huh?" he states.

Kyo stares back at him levelly, "Of course. Didn't think I'd let you guys have all the fun now, did you?" he counters with a smirk.

Akari bounds up excitedly, "Hotaru! You're here, great! Ah I see you grew out your hair again, it looks good, try my cooking will you?" she says hurriedly.

Hotaru stares, "There's no way in hell I'm trying your cooking. It sucked seven years ago, and it probably sucks now," he says quietly.

"It does," mutters Akira sourly, still trying to drown out the taste with a good dosage of sake.

He gets punched in the jaw instead, "MY COOKING DOES NOT SUCK! I don't know what's wrong with you guys, to think that way!!" she exclaims.

Akira flops uselessly to the ground in a nearly unconscious heap.

It seems as though the pain would be spread all around.

Hotaru gets drop-kicked in the head by a blur of black,

"HOTARU YOU JERK!" shrieks a young male voice, consequently the same heard before by the group of warriors..and one bounty hunter, and two shamans.

The teen lands gracefully on his feet, huffs and straightens out his clothes, ignoring the now unconscious Hotaru.

He looked to be no more than seventeen years old, tall with a slim figure, and soft facial features. He wore a black zipped up sleeveless top, black pants and sandals. Black black black, anyone see a pattern here?

His raven black hair, which was highlighted blue under the rays of the sun was in a very messy style, spiked up in odd directions, bangs caressing his lightly tanned skin. (A/N: dude, I just realized he sounds kinda like Uchiha Sasuke. It's not him, dun worry!)

Another pattern was silver. Silver earrings adorned his ears, slender fingers, long neck, and even the corner of his lower lip.

"Damn bastard, just up and leaving like that," he was muttering to himself, shaking the imaginary dust from his clothes and narrowing his smoldering gray eyes.

"You're the one who drop kicked him, didn't you?" questions Akira, clasping his chin in his hand, Tokito glancing from behind him with interest in her eyes in the newest arrival to their party. When the hell did he regain consciousness??? Hell, I don't even know.

The dark haired teenager glares, "Well the jackass deserved it! He drags me all the way from China to meet up with his friends, and manages to get us lost!" he complains, "Only an idiot like him can do that!" he adds.

Bon chuckles lightly, "Yeah, only Hotaru could do something like that. Take a seat and grab some sake kid, this is gonna be one hell of an introduction."

Sighing, the teen does as he was told, settling himself beside a slightly more drunk Shinrei, who quickly pours him a glass.

"Kid, I am the great Bontemaru-sama, I'm sure you've heard of me!" booms Bon arrogantly.

Raising a single black eyebrow, the teen responds, "I've never heard of any old farts going by that name. What the hell kinda name is Bontemaru?"

Bon glares heatedly as laughter ripples through the group, "HAVE SOME RESPECT YOU INSOLENT BRAT!" he shouts.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever ya old windbag," mutters the teen, wiggling a pinky finger in his ear and examining it closely.

"Ouch, Haru that wasn't very nice," mutters Hotaru, having finally regained consciousness himself and sits down beside the teen.

"Shut up, idiot, you have no say in anything anymore," snaps Haru angrily, sipping the sake at hand.

"Who's this child Keikoku?" asks Shinrei, sobered up enough to ask questions.

"Shinrei, you haven't changed much," comments Hotaru plainly, "This is my student, Haru."

Yuan gapes openly, as the others try, and again fail miserably, to conceal their shock.

"You have a student? Someone is actually stupid enough to try to learn something from you?!" exclaims the blind-folded man hysterically.

"Oi, I'm not stupid!" snaps Haru, scowling in annoyance, "He does know a few things."

"Did you seduce this fool into bed!?" exclaims Bon in outrage. Huh, outrage that he hasn't gotten laid in months. But ahem, back to the matter at hand.

Okuni chortles amusedly. The other women stare in slight alarm.

"No I did NOT seduce him into bed with me! I'm not a whore," snarls Haru, dumping his sake on the older man's head.

Bon sputters, "WHAT THE HELL BRAT?!"

"You're right," murmurs Haru calmly, "I wasted perfectly good sake on an old fart like you. Why did I do that?" he adds brokenheartedly.

With that, he refills his cup, curtsey of a swaying Sanada Yukimura.

"So you've been traveling with him for how long?" asks Kyo, speaking for the first time in awhile.

The teen glances at him, "A little less than three years," he responds quickly.

"Huh, having to keep him out of trouble for that long, I pity you," comments Akari brightly, "Was it worth it?" she asks.

Haru shrugs, "Yeah of course."

"So uh, introductions, right everyone!?" exclaims Tora drunkenly, swaying almost as much as Yukimura.

"He's told me about most of you," interrupts the teen, "So introductions aren't needed, meaning YOU baboon man, I don't care who the hell you are," he snaps at Bon, who was in the process of booming introductions.

"Uhm, Haru-san, would you like something to eat?" asks Mahiro hesitantly, forcing a smile.

Haru beams, "Sure, I'd love to try some of your food," he says, and winks at her, resulting in a bright red blush to stain the violet haired girls' cheeks. (A/N: OMFG BISHOUNEN ALERT!)

"Wanna try my food, Haru-kun?" asks Akari, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

"Hotaru-no-baka has told me about you Akari-chan, and I think I'd gladly die rather than eat your food respectfully," states Haru with a nod.

"He's quite skilled," observes Tokito "Is he strong?" she asks the blond haired fire-user, who looks glances up from a fistful of dango.

Stolen from his dear half-brothers plate when said big brother wasn't looking.

"He's strong," replies Hotaru, shoveling more food into his mouth, "And he's good at tricking people too," he adds thoughtfully.

Bon sighs and places a hand on his shoulder, "Did he trick you into teaching him, Hotaru? It's ok, you can admit it. We know how dumb you are."

"He didn't trick me. He did try to steal from me though. And I caught him," explains the blond.

Unfortunately Haru had gone into his next phase of drunkenness: Storytelling.

"And I said, 'hey, that's my dango ya bastard, give it back!' and I kicked him in the balls!" exclaims the teen in a way too loud voice.

"Are you even old enough to be drinking sake?" questions Sasuke, a skeptical look on his face.

"Sure I am," says Haru, "I'm sixteen."

"So what have you guys been up to these past three years," asks Hotaru curiously.

"He's been hanging out with a sixteen year old," mutters Yuan slowly, "Poor kid. Anyway, I've been training. Ready to have another rematch with you, Keikoku."

"I've been researching a cure for the Mibu sickness," pipes up Akari brightly, subtly inching one of her home-made bento boxes of death towards Bon.

"I've been helping," adds Shinrei.

"Oh yeah that's cuz you can read Chinese," comments Hotaru.

"IT'S JAPANESE!" shouts Shinrei heatedly.

"I've been helping that bastard Yukimura out," says Bon, extending his chopsticks towards his non-death impending bento and ends up chopstick deep in Akari's instead.

Yukimura giggles and leans on Bon's shoulder, "Yeah s'been lotsa fun! Bon-chan is so fun to mess with," he slurs happily.

Bon growls, "I am not fun to mess with!" he snaps, and angrily shoves a dumpling in his mouth.

He freezes, and starts to pale, "Ulp," he utters.

"Akari-san, did you give Bon-san some of your bento?" asks Yuya nervously.

"Hmm?" murmurs Akari, "I dunno. Maybe he just felt like trying some?" she suggests.

"He doesn't want to die that badly," says Akira, shaking his head sadly.

Ignoring the distressed grunts of the older man, the group continues conversation, while trying to slyly keep the sake out of Shinrei's grasp.

"I've been meaning to ask, Yun-Yun, where are Anna and the others?" asks Hotaru, glancing up from a plate of chicken.

"I don't know, and I really don't want to know," replies his teacher, "What I do wanna know is what types of moves have your taught this kid?" he counters.

"Oh you know," says Hotaru, and leaves it at that, as if that really answered the question.

Yuan waits expectantly, and when the blond pyromaniac doesn't continue,

"That isn't an answer idiot!" he snaps angrily, stabbing Hotaru in the arm with a chopstick.

"Ouch," mutters the blond, and calmly removes the wooden utensil.

"BUT WHY DO I HAVE TO GO SIT AT THE KIDS TABLE?" whines Tora slowly, as Mahiro tries to guide him over to the blanket with Yukimura, Bon, Sasuke and Haru,

"Because I just think you'd better safer over here, Hidetada-sama," she says gently, huffing with effort, since she was the one actually moving the squinty eyed drunk.

Tora finally stumbles to a corner of the blanket and flops over on his bum, swaying from side to side.

"Hi Tora-san!" Yukimura greets him cheerfully as usual, waving frantically at the other man.

"Che and another one of the drunken idiots joins the party over here," comments Sasuke moodily, scowling at the men around him.

"Hey, I am not a drunk idiot!" protests Tora, not that that convinced anyone, since he was shouting and slurring his words in a sloppy manner.

"I'm not even drunk," mutters Bon sourly, holding a jug of sake upside down and letting the few drops left spill out onto the grass.

"Eh? Where'd Haru-san go?" questions Yukimura, glancing around for the dark haired teen.

"Oh great, we lost one," states Bon wearily, "Hope he didn't have to go take a piss, and accidentally misses and sprays someone," he adds as an after thought.

He was wrong.

Because suddenly Hotaru found himself with a lapful of Haru, arms wrapped around his waist, "Na Hotaru, did you know you smell good?" asks the teen innocently.

And here, Haru enters stage three of drunkenness: Touchy Feely.

"KYAAA, HE'S SO CUTE!" squeals Akari loudly, startling the other members of the group as little hearts go floating in the air.

"He's quite out there, isn't he?" observes Akira, clasping his chin with his hand.

"I don't know whether to be alarmed or aroused," mutters Tokito, then "Oh shit, I didn't mean to say that out loud," after noticing the disturbed stares.

"And you say he didn't seduce you?" comments Kyo, smirking knowingly.

"No, nothing like that has ever happened," replies Hotaru, trying to get comfortable even with the squirming teenager on his lap.

"Hey, let go of that!" snaps Yuan.

If that doesn't sound like a sexual innuendo, I don't know what does.

Haru had somehow managed to hang halfway off Hotaru and reach over to tug at Yuan's red blindfold/headband thing.

"But whyyy?" whines Haru, pursing his lips in a pout and abandoning his interest in the red head band, not realizing where he had placed his hands: quite close to his teachers' groin.

"And you still deny him seducing you?" insists Shinrei suddenly, an eyebrow raised, sake jug poised at his lips.

"Nope he's never seduced me," replies Hotaru, gently grabbing Haru by the wrists and guiding them to rest at his sides.

The teen blinks up at him innocently, sending Akari into another squealing fit, rendering the random cherry blossom watchers nearby bleeding from the ears.

"Well well well, if it isn't the blond idiot and his drunken bum of an apprentice," states a new male voice amusedly.

The group was now confronted by three new individuals.

The first, obviously the leader, taking up the front, was a rather short man with russet brown hair, darkly tanned skin and honey brown eyes.

He stood with his arms crossed over his chest, an arrogant smirk on his young face.

The second person was female, dark hair pulled into a messy bun atop her head to contrast with her pale skin, second in command and scowling at everyone with narrowed blue eyes.

"Ironic, no? Even when we're calmly coming here to watch the cherry blossoms, we run into these two," she says slowly.

"Who gives a damn? Let's just sit somewhere and not pitch a bitch like always," says the third member of their group, "I need a drink."

He was the tallest of the three, and thin, brown hair streaked with green, obviously dyed, highlights versus his lightly tanned skin, and bored brown eyes to match the bored expression on his face.

"Who pitched a bitch last time, hmm, can you tell me that Toshiro?" demands the leader, glaring at his companion.

"You did," deadpans Toshiro, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

"I DID NOT!" protests the leader shrilly, drawing stares from fellow blossom watchers.

"You did too Daisuke, so just shut the hell up and sit your useless ass down," mutters Toshiro slowly.

"I am not useless!" shrieks Daisuke.

"Why are you yelling?!" shouts Akari angrily, "You're ruining the festival for everyone!"

"Hey keep it down, some of us are catatonic due to alcohol," murmurs Shinrei, yawning and rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"I'll do as I like!" snaps Daisuke, and unfortunately he doesn't see the fist coming straight for his head.

"SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN YOU'RE PISSING ME OFF!" screams the female member of their little ensemble, sending their leader crashing to the ground in a heap.

She regains her composure and bows respectively, "Excuse me for my behavior, but he just makes me loose control sometimes."

"You're too nice Ayame-chan, you should just admit that Daisuke is just an annoying moron," pipes up Haru from his teachers lap.

"THIS IS OUR SPOT AND I DEMAND YOU MOVE!" shrieks Daisuke, having gotten to his feet, a swollen bruise throbbing on the top of his head.

"Wanna try repeating that, shithead?" speaks up Kyo, a solemn look on his face.

"Uhm..." seeing the look in his crimson eyes makes the leader of the trio think twice, "Well ya see..." he trails off nervously.

Toshiro sighs, and takes a seat beside Hotaru, "Whatever, I'm sick of this crap. It's the same every time. This dumbass makes a big deal about something, gets all riled up, and gets his ass kicked," he states, opening a new jug of sake and pouring himself a cup.

Haru immediately brightens, "Drinking contest?" he suggests.

Toshiro snorts and glances at him out of the corner of his eye, "I thought you'd never ask, ya bum," he replies.

And with that, Haru leaves Hotaru's lap and sits to the side with the bored teen, joining him in the game.

"Great, now we have another drunk," comments Bon bitterly, "And I can't even manage to get drunk. The moment I reach for sake, someone has drank it all," he states, casting a pointed glare at the snoozing Yukimura, a sullen Sasuke sitting beside him and playing with whatever the hell his toy is called. (A/N: I kno it has a name, I'm still too lazy to go look)

"Would you like something to eat Ayame-san?" asks Akari pleasantly, putting a farce on the doom that was surely to come once consuming her food.

"Don't do it," hisses Akira in a tight whisper, "If you value your life!"

"No thank you, I already ate," Ayame declines politely.

"HA I WIN!" exclaims Haru victoriously as Toshiro leans to the side and vomits.

The dark haired teen suddenly pales, and joins his drinking opponent in vomiting in the freshly cut grass.

"That's a huge waste," pipes up Daisuke, sighing and shaking his head helplessly.

"That boy cannot hold his alcohol for long," comments Yuan slowly, chuckling amusedly.

"Like most of the people here can?" says Bon, "Yukimura's out like a light, Tora is still rambling on and those two are puking their guts out. The only mildly sober one is either me or Shinrei," he explains.

"What about Kyo?" asks Sasuke curiously, having crept up to them when he lost interest in placing creepy-crawlies in the unconscious Yukimura's hair.

"He's long gone," replies Bon with a shake of his head.

A sake jug collides with his face,

"What was that old fart?" snaps the crimson haired man dangerously.

"You heard me you idiot, you're long drunk by now," snaps the older man, stepping towards Kyo with disastrous intent, "And don't throw shit at me, that's dangerous! I could have lost an eye!"

"I hate to break it to you, Bontemaru-san, but you're already one eye short," states Shinrei.

"Hey, stop fighting you guys!" exclaims Yuya, "Who cares whether Kyo is really drunk or not?"

"That's right," pipes up Akari, "While he's drunk, maybe I'll be able to land a hit on him!" she adds.

"You still haven't given up on him, huh?" comments Hotaru, an eyebrow raised.

"Of course not silly!" chides the pink haired woman with a giggle.

"So I've been wondering," says Yuan, "Who are these other brats?"

The blond shrugs, "I'm not really sure, they just started trying to kill us one day," he explains.

"What the hell kind of explanation is that?" murmurs Akira skeptically.

"Hotaru how could you forget why we're trying to kill you!" exclaims Daisuke in outrage, "It's because you and that stupid drunken apprentice of yours stole something that belongs to me, and I want it back!" he states, pointing an accusing finger at the blond.

"Hmm, I dunno what you're talking about honestly," says Hotaru dismissibly, glancing at his swaying apprentice.

"Whatcha guys talkin' about?" asks Haru curiously, coming up behind Hotaru and wrapping his arms around him again, leaning his head on the blonds' shoulder.

"Why are they trying to kill us again?" asks his teacher.

Haru shrugs, "I dunno. I think I took something of theirs. I don't remember what it was," he responds tiredly.

Toshiro swaggers up beside them and stumbles to sit down, wiping some stray vomit from his chin, "You stole...I don't know, it was too long ago and after all the alcohol I've consumed to try and forget, well I forgot."

"Ne Ayame, what did he steal?" he asks the female of the group, who sighs,

"I don't know. I think he took a necklace or something," she says.

"See, problem solved?" states Hotaru, nodding his head.

"That solves nothing, dumbass," says Kyo, rolling his eyes and pouring another cup of sake.

Everyone had lost count of how much alcohol everyone else had consumed, considering the amount of empty sake bottles that littered the place, and the great distance all the other cherry blossom watchers had put between themselves and the group of warriors and such.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Soon the sun had set, and while all the other cherry blossom watchers had left to find a spot to watch fireworks, away from the drunks, Kyo and his companions had remained in their spot, gazing up at the sky, or sleeping in a few of the drunks cases.

Kyoshiro and Sakuya, who had until now been totally forgotten in this fic on purpose and accident had turned in for the night, and the rest of us shall try not the think about what sorts of things they could be doing at this moment. We'll leave that to the Kyoshiro/Sakuya shippers.

Who knew where the hell Okuni went, probably to find some strong man to spend the night with. Not that anyone present missed her, things were a lot calmer, and Akari was a lot less irritable without the dark haired spy around.

And Tokito, well she was just gone. Much to the relief of Akira, who could breath easier with the demanding female gone.

Ayame sighs and rolls her eyes, draping a spare blanket over a snoozing Daisuke, chopsticks grasped in his hand.

"The little moron's asleep, eh?" comments Toshiro, lighting his pipe and inhaling, letting the smoke stream out between his parted lips and float into the air.

"Finally," replies the girl, smiling softly.

"Dog face, stop running around like an idiot and come sit down," commands Kyo, glancing at the woman as he lounges on the ground propped up on his side.

Scowling at the redhead, Yuya huffs and sits beside him, staring up at the fireworks that exploded in the sky, the bright lights illuminating the soft pink blossoms that had yet to fall to the ground.

"Today was a good day," she comments.

"Yeah, aside from everyone but me getting drunk and people acting stupid," interrupts Bon sarcastically, "Today was great." He frowns moodily and crosses his arms over his chest.

"Oh stop bitching!" snaps Akari, "Don't forget, you have to help me take all this crap back to where we're staying," she adds in a business tone.

"Yeah yeah, whatever," he grumbles, scratching his privates idly.

"Ah, one day without those hectic siblings of mine running around amuck, causing trouble," says Yuan contentedly, slowly letting himself fall backward onto his back and folding his arms behind his head.

"You sound almost sad, if you excuse me for saying Yuan-san," comments Mahiro with a small smile, tucking a large blanket around a loudly snoring Tora.

Yuan offers a small smile in return, "Naw. It just feels weird, to be here without them. Though I'm sure they've driven pop outta his mind by now. And Anna's probably kicked someone's ass," he states.

"Haru," speaks up Hotaru quietly, bringing the dark haired teen out of his near slumber state.

"Hmm?" grunts the teen, glancing up from his resting place; leaning against the blonds arm.

"Happy birthday," states Hotaru, bringing something out of his pocket.

It was a red headband, similar to the one he had tied around his forehead and Yuan had across his eyes.

"Owah!" exclaims the teen, eyes widening, "You remembered?! Awesome!" no longer feeling tired, the teen takes the cloth from Hotaru and peers at it.

"Hmm, I don't think I'm gonna put it around my forehead," he says, "Or around my eyes like a moron," he adds, ignoring Yuan's sandal flying through the air, aimed for his head.

With a grin, he wraps it around his neck instead, deciding to pull it off as a scarf or something.

"What do ya think?" he asks, his arms at his sides.

Hotaru nods solemnly, "It looks good on you," he replies.

"Thank you Shisho!" exclaims Haru, wrapping his long arms around the blond and nearly squeezing the life out of him, "I can actually say I've gotten a birthday present from you now!" he adds, and with a wide grin, bounds over to show the others his present.

"Aww that was so sweet of you Hotaru!" squeals Akari loudly, nearly drowning out the boom of the fireworks overhead.

"Huh, you better watch that one closely," comments Bon, burping obnoxiously.

"What do you mean?" asks Hotaru, an eyebrow raised.

Bon sighs and shakes his head, as if thinking, 'of all the things I have to put up with,'

"Ya see that kid now? Imagine all the boys, and girls, chasing after him when he's older. You're gonna have to be fighting them horny kids off like mad," he explains, pointing a dirty finger at Haru.

Hotaru blinks, and glances over at the ecstatic teen as he chatted adamantly to Toshiro, who looked like he couldn't be bothered to give a damn.

Ayame was smiling as she watched the two males, putting in her two cents every now and then into the conversation.

"Haru-chan come over here for a minute," calls Akari, failing to catch the attention of the teen.

"What are you up to, Akari?" questions Kyo amusedly; Yuya glances over at the pink haired woman with a confused look on her face.

"Nothing nothing, why does everyone always suspect me of plotting something?" she counters.

"Because we all remember the first birthday the five of us celebrated," says Akira ominously, brows knit together in a frown.

"What happened?" asks Shinrei, startling the others who had thought he was blissfully unconscious like the other drunks.

"I don't want to talk about it," mutters the ice-user stubbornly, arms crossed over his chest.

"He got really drunk and confessed his love for Kyo," explains Bon with a laugh.

Akira turns a deep shade of scarlet as Yuya stares at him, as do the others who knew nothing about the incident.

"I DID NO SUCH THING!!" protests Akira, clenching his fists at his sides angrily.

"I remember it like it was yesterday," reminisces Akari with a smile, "You were so cute! Swaying and slurring like a kid."

Kyo chuckles quietly in his own little corner.

"SHUT UP! STOP TELLING PEOPLE STUFF THAT ISN'T TRUE!" shrieks Akira.

"But it is true," pipes up Hotaru, "I still have the scar on my ass from when you were super plastered and stabbed me there with your sword," he adds.

Cue awkward, stunned silence.

"I always wondered why you two were in the woods for so long, and now I know," Bon states, shaking his head in wonder.

"NOTHING LIKE THAT HAPPENED! HOTARU STOP LYING!" screams Akira, face a brilliant red.

"But you did stab me there, I still have the scar, want me to show it?" the blond offers, standing with his hands resting on the waistband of his pants.

"No one here wants to see your ass, so don't you dare pull those pants down, idiot!" snaps Yuan, glaring at his student savagely.

"Cuz I'm sure you've seen his ass, and much much more plenty of times, right?" says Bon with a smirk.

"What are you implying Bontemaru?" growls Yuan, left eyebrow twitching.

"Oh nothing," replies the other man innocently, "Just, you know the barrier between student and teacher has been crossed many times," he says.

"You son of a"

The blindfolded man gets cut off as Yuya speaks up, "That's enough everyone, let's all just calm down!"

Suddenly, Haru bounces over excitedly, Toshiro and Ayame following in his wake, way less enthused as he was of course.

"Why's everyone all riled up?" he asks curiously, blinking in confusion.

"Don't worry about it Haru-chan, come sit by me!" says Akari, giving the spot beside her a gentle pat.

Nodding, the teen sits beside her and waits, "What is it?"

"I wanna give you your birthday present," replies the pink haired woman with a smile.

"You don't have to do that, Akari Onee-chan," says Haru, "I'll weasel all the birthday presents out of Hotaru later," he adds.

"But I'm going to tell you how to seduce people," explains Akari, already smitten with the teen after the Onee-chan comment.

"Oh, that? Don't worry, I already know how to do that," says Haru with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"I KNEW IT!" shouts Akira, pointing an accusing finger at the teen, who in turn stares at him.

"I was the one who said it, not you idiot," mutters Bon sourly, "Anyway, we had the feeling you seduced Hotaru into being your shisho," he adds.

"No I didn't," replies Haru, "I stole his money from him, he caught me, end of story," he explains.

"Wow, you guys have way to much time on your hands," observes Toshiro slowly, shaking his head.

"Man, what time is it?" murmurs Tora, rising from his drunken catatonic state groggily.

"The sun's already set," replies Mahiro, "Shall we go?" she asks.

"Sure," says Tora, stretching his arms over his head, "Let's go."

"Mahiro-san, would you like me to help you pack the leftovers?" offers Yuya quickly.

"No thanks, I thought I'd better leave them for Shinrei-san, since he and Yuan-san are the ones staying with Akari-san," she says, standing and pulling Tora to a standing position by the arm, "Thank you for inviting us though, we both had a lovely time."

"Bye guys, BYE YUYA-HAN!" shouts Tora loudly.

The others wave and chant back their goodbyes in response,

"It was nice meeting you Mahiro-san!" calls Haru, "Take good care of your idiot," he adds.

The violet haired ninja smiles, "The same goes to you. Goodbye."

And with that, she and Benitora disappeared into the night.

"I think we should be going as well," pipes up Saizo, leaping down from his perch in the tree and waking Yukimura.

He and Sasuke give their polite goodbyes and leave as well.

"BYE BON-CHAN! COME DRINK SAKE WITH ME SOMETIME!" shouts Yukimura happily.

"Looks like it's just us left," comments Shinrei with a sigh.

"I think I'm gonna call it a night, I have to go make sure Pop hasn't been driven insane," says Yuan abruptly, standing and sticking his hands into his pockets, "Keikoku, let's not wait three years till we see each other again. I want a re-match and a battle with your brat," he states.

"Tell Anna I said hi," replies Hotaru

"Bye Yun-chan!" calls Haru brightly.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" shouts Yuan, kicking the teen in the back of the head.

He snorts angrily once, and turns his back and leaves, a hand raised in the air in farewell, "I'll be waiting for that re-match fool."

Ten minutes later, Shinrei and Akari had left as well, the silver haired water-user having to drag the pink haired shameness away from an unresponsive Kyo.

Yuya was still fuming angrily at the redheads' side.

The trio turned duo, Ayame and Toshiro had long since dragged their retarded leader away, stating that they would soon be back for the necklace.

"And next time, you bring the alcohol," Toshiro had stated moodily, "Cuz I'm flat out broke now."

Haru sighs, "So where are we staying?" he asks Hotaru.

The blond shrugs, "I dunno. We'll find a place. Eventually."

"Why don't you stay with us?" suggests Yuya.

"Can I stay with you too?" asks Akira, "I don't want to stay anywhere near this buffoon," he adds, gesturing towards Bon.

"YOU BRAT!" shouts the gray haired man angrily, waving a fist at the ice-user.

"Sure, you can stay with us, right Kyo?" says Yuya, smiling at the redhead with a smile that promised no sex if he declined and sent his friends out into the cold. Funny, seeing as though it was the middle of April.

Kyo grunts in response and stands, signaling the end of the matter and an abrupt exit.

The others rise to their feet and gather their belongings,

"Hehehe," Bon chuckles as they walk along, "Kyo's still got nothin' on Yuya-chan. Demon? More like little newborn kitten!" he exclaims.

Kyo hangs back, letting the older man stride ahead of him a pace, then puts out his left foot, tripping Bon.

Shouting at the top of his lungs in a panicked manner, Bon flails his arms around and falls to the ground. And if that wasn't enough, he starts to roll down the hill.

"KYO! THAT WAS AN AWFUL THING TO DO!" scolds Yuya, staring wide eyed Bon continues to roll down the hill.

Kyo shrugs, grunts, and continues on his way, Hotaru, his student and Akira following.

Akira leaves this one last comment, "It sure was funny though."

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"Hey Hotaru, do you think Kyo and Yuya will keep us up all night?" asks Haru, rubbing a towel over his hair, wet strands sticking to his face.

The two of them were in the room they were sharing for the night at Kyo and Yuya's place.

Hotaru was currently lying on his back on the futon, staring up at the ceiling dazedly, "Probably," he replies.

Haru rolls his eyes and strolls over to the futon, sitting beside the blond, "I can never get a proper answer out of you," he mutters.

A sudden creak brings the teen out of the sullen glare he had aimed at his teacher.

He sighs, "Bon and Akira are trying to listen in on us again," he states, shaking his head.

"It'll pass," says Hotaru, folding his arms behind his head.

A loud, low moan rips through the night air, and the door abruptly slams shut, hurried footsteps sound, running down the hall.

"Huh, now they're gonna look in on Kyo and Yuya," says Hotaru.

"No, Akira is probably gonna go back to his room and sulk, and Bon's gonna go watch," says Haru.

"I can't believe you actually remembered my birthday," muses Haru, tossing the towel onto the chair in the corner of the room.

A moment of silence passes.

"Actually, Ayame-chan reminded me a week ago, and kept reminding me until today," states the blond.

Haru scowls at him and elbows him in the face, "You idiot!" he snaps.

"Ouch," mutters Hotaru, rubbing at his sore nose, "that hurt."

Haru huffs, "Whatever."

Another moment, ruined by banging against the wall, most likely coming from Kyo and Yuya's room.

"I guess it's the thought that counts," murmurs Haru with a small smile.

He bends his head and licks Hotaru's throbbing nose in apology.

A moment later, he turns out the light, and the room is bathed in pitch black.

A pervy giggle echoes through the air, which interrupts the noise from Kyo and Yuya's room.

"BONTEMARU!" shrieks Yuya's voice loudly, followed by the sound of crashing, this time not from the throes of passion. But from Bontemaru's head painfully colliding with the floor, and a bare foot, most likely Kyo's, pounding into the side of his face.

"See? I knew it," says Haru knowingly in the dark.

"Hope they don't kill him," says Hotaru, "He still owes me 20 ryo."

"For what?" asks the teen.

"I don't remember," replies the blond.

Haru sighs, "You're such an idiot."

Bontemaru's frightened screams echo long into the night, along with Akira's amused laughter.

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XD end. God that was fun. Yeah I kno I torture Akira and Bon a little too much, but it's SO MUCH FUN to mess with them! (Squeals) and I have no idea whether or not Akari's cooking sucks, but I think it could be possible that Akira cooked for them. He was a homely little kid, and maybe he wanted to please Kyo? (Shrugs) Yeah yeah everyone was OOC too, and my character sounds like a total bishounen and Gary Stu, but whatever. Hmm making fun of Yuan is cool too. I like the pairing of Yuan/Hotaru, so don't hate. The question everyone is wondering (maybe) do Hotaru and Haru have a thing? HMMM MAYBE! Perhaps you'll find out if I write more on these characters. You liked the loopy villains? They cracked me up. So please review, flamers will me laughed at. Ja ne!

HotIceRed


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